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'Last World Cup, a newcomer was picked over a proven performer. India hardly played him in the XI': Gavaskar's warning
The 50-over World Cup in India is still nine months away, but Sunil Gavaskar has made a request to help the team prepare for the tournament in October-November.
With the Indian cricket team entering another World Cup year, the Men in Blue would be eager to rectify their mistakes from the last two editions and gun for glory again. One cannot stress enough just how long it has been since India last won an ICC event, let alone a World Cup. And with each year as the expectations of the masses increase, the hopes only end up in disappointment – be it the last two T20 World Cups, the Champions Trophy final of 2017 or the 50-over World Cup heartbreak of 2019. An ICC title simply continues to elude India.
Like any team, team selection plays a huge role. Last year, although India were well-equipped with a strong 15-member unit, the availability of a couple of important players such as Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, some debatable calls like leaving Yuzvendra Chahal out of the Playing XI, and leaving out pace sensation Umran Malik from the squad, many feel, were detrimental to the team's chances.
The result was a one-sided defeat to England in the semifinal to send India crashing out. Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain has requested media outlets to stay away from overseas commentators to get their views and opinions about a certain player/s. The reason behind Gavaskar's plea is that he feels too much reporting about a player who may not be worthy enough of an India call has the tendency to send mixed signals.
"Hopefully, our media won't be going to overseas commentators asking who should be picked for India. Never forget that these commentators are loyal to their country and may actually suggest names that may not be what India need. We saw what happened in the last World Cup where a newcomer's name was pushed by the overseas commentators during that season's IPL and he was eventually picked over a proven performer and India ended up hardly playing him in the XI," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
While he did not name any player in particular, all signs point towards the 3D saga featuring Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar that took place during the 2019 World Cup. India had shaped Rayudu to be their designated No. 4 batter for over a year but when the squad was announced, his name went surprisingly missing. Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri, the then captain and coach instead preferred all-rounder Vijay Shankar who had done decently in the IPL scoring 244 runs and taking one wicket. However, that experiment too failed as Shankar, after scoring 58 runs and picking two wickets in three matches, endured a foot injury and was eventually replaced by Rishabh Pant.
No one gained from this as not only did Rayudu and Shankar's careers take a downward spiral, but India lost to New Zealand in the semifinal. In order to prevent something similar from happening this time round, Gavaskar hopes the media will avoid taking inputs from those who aren't too familiar with the Indian team, its players and squad compositions.
"Cricket being hugely popular, it is understandable that there has to be some cricket news or the other but it would be terrific if we don't go around asking foreigners what our teams should be, because then the joke could well be on us, the Indian fans and it won't be funny at all," added the India legend.
